STARGAZING
You sit on the edge of the universe.
It's your favourite place to go, and it's stained with your tears and smiles and secrets. To others, the black taking over their horizontal vision is threatening- but you aren't afraid. It reminds you of home. The colour was the exact shade of dark as the bottom of the ocean was, a place you loved to go before your mind turned against you.
In a way, everything was easier back then.
You consider yourself too nostalgic.
The sound of a heavy door slamming shut and a familiar pair of footsteps interrupt your train of thought. Your expression sours. There goes your peace and quiet.
"ED?"
Your heartbeat speeds up at the sound of his voice. Not because of love, or hate, you attempt to assure yourself, but of anger. You decide not to reply.
"ED, what the fuck are you doing?" You hear panic and judgement in his voice and the sound of his mismatched shoes hitting the stone in a run.
Before you can turn your head, he crashes into you- your back skids against the gritty surface of the meteor-away from the edge. A heavy weight settles on top of you, and you look up to see a pair of red and blue eyes.
"Get off," you grumble, trying to push him off of you.
He keeps his hands on your shoulders, and the touch would have been pleasant if your back weren't stinging and his grip weren't so tight.
"No, Ampora! What the hell!" He's scowling.
Annoyance stirs in your stomach, but surprisingly, it isn't because of him in particular- not his stupid eyes or his mouth or cropped hair, but only because your blissfully numb state of being had been interrupted.
"Fuck off! I'm just not havin' a good day, Sol, now get up before I push your revoltin' mustard ass off this damn meteor," you snap at him.
He quirks a brow, pretending to consider.
"I'll let go if you fight me." The sudden mischievous sparkle in his eye makes your heart skip a beat, and the accompanied grin causes your cheeks to flush. You don't push him off. You weren't going to.
"Absolutely not!"
"Why? Afraid I'll beat you again?" He looks smug.
"No! I can beat your scrawny ass any day, you know that." But you don't feel the urge to hit him.
"Why not today?" You can't deal with him on days like these.
"Because I said so!"
He grabs your scarf, harshly tugging you towards him and slamming his other hand beside your head. You settle back on your elbows.
Sollux frowns at you as you both glare at each other, and then he lets out a sigh, as if you were the one inconveniencing him, because you're Eridan Ampora and you're always such a huge inconvenience, even when you're out of the way.
You hold your breath. You just want him to leave.
He takes in your furrowed brows, your lips, which are pressed into a thin line, and finally, your eyes. You don't know what he sees, but his grip on your scarf loosens and the annoyance in his eyes melts away.
He rolls off of you.
A pause. "No, but seriously, when did you become such a fucking pacifist?" He asks, shifting so that his arm is pressed against yours. He's too close.
"Why do you wanna know so badly, anyway?" You mutter, sounding like a little child but you can't bring yourself to care. His touch saps the anger and annoyance right out of you, and it really shouldn't, but he's never been one for the rules anyway.
You turn to look at him. Your eyes flicker to his lips, and you let yourself take a moment to imagine what it would be like to kiss him- gently, lovingly, without bruises or blood or bite-marks.
No, no, this shouldn't be happening. You can't let this happen- you and Sol weren't even in the black quadrant! As much as he hated you, he didn't hate you that much. What a bastard.
Your head jerks up to face the cosmos before he can decode your curious glances. Out of the corner of your eye, you catch him staring at you.
"What?" You grit your teeth, feigning annoyance, because you can tell he's suspicious.
"What the hell is wrong with you? You never refuse a duel," he says, and sure enough, his voice is layered with levels upon levels of suspicion.
"I don't have to duel you Sol, stop actin' like it's the end of the world if I'm not in the mood this one time," you try to be believable, you really do, but your words are too defensive, your muscles are too tense, and your gaze is locked onto the sky a little too persistently.
Sollux rolls onto his side, so that he's right up against you. He's pleasantly warm, you notice, and it contrasts with the cool stone beneath you. He places a finger under your chin, tilting it towards him. You shiver. His fingernails are too sharp.
The corners of his lips tug upwards in amusement. You want to pull away and slap him, but you don't, because he's right there and his eyes are just so captivating. And before you can wonder what the hell he's about to do, he presses a lingering kiss to your cheek, and you can feel your stupid fins flutter.
"W-what the actual fuck was that, Sol?" You try to sound angry, but your cheek still tingles and you feel your face burn.
"Dumbass." A quiet chuckle breaks you out of your trance, and you squeeze your eyes shut and look away. Your heart sinks. Of course it was a joke, why the hell would Sollux Captor be feeling red for someone like you? Hurt squeezes at your chest, and you rest your hands on his thin figure and shove him away with a snarl.
He has the audacity to look surprised- as if he didn't have it out for you ever since the two of you met.
"You're the dumbass! Who the fuck confuses the red and black quadrants anyway? Dumbasses like you, that's who," you retaliate, sitting up. You're such a hypocrite. You don't care, though, as long as you win this god damn argument. It's not like he knows.
"Yeah, well, at least I'm not the one jumping off of meteors, am I?"
You stop, confusion etched on your features.
"What?"
"What?" He repeats mockingly. "We all know you hate yourself, ED, don't play dumb." He sounds spiteful, as if he were accusing you of a crime. But then you feel a warm, calloused hand on yours, and your breath hitches.
He's so confusing.
You aren't sure if you hate it or love it, but your heart is racing either way.
"You're dumb if you think I was jumpin' off! W-what, I can't sit and think shit over without the need to toss myself off of everything I come across?" You're too flustered for a good comeback.
His lips stretch into a wide grin, and in two smooth motions, he slides into your lap and grabs your scarf again. Your hands jump to his waist on instinct.
"No," he says simply, and you have a feeling he's just trying to provoke you again.
So you tilt your head upwards and catch his mouth with yours. He takes a moment to react, and you feel a bubble of pride because for once, you caught him off guard and not the other way around.
And then his chapped lips move against yours, and it's such a familiar feeling, but it never fails to send jolts of electricity through you. Sollux tugs on your scarf to pull you closer, and you tilt your head to deepen the kiss.
Just as you do, he pulls away, nipping at your pouted lower lip playfully. You slowly run one hand up his back as you catch your breath. He leans into your touch, and his two tone eyes are thoughtful as they stare into yours.
After a long moment, he kisses you again, but this time, it's slow and gentle and it sends shivers down your arms. His touch is so tender, when he cups your cheek with his free hand, and you wonder if he's been confusing his quadrants like you have.
On most days, all you feel for him is painstakingly black rage, but today, you feel disgustingly red.
You don't know why.
He's infuriating.
But you don't care, especially not now, because you've got him at your fingertips and you've never felt so close to anyone before, not like this. You just want to keep holding him, kissing him, because he's been polluting your brain with that damn smile of his.
"I hate you," he whispers against your mouth, but his words are so soft, so sweet, you have trouble believing him. You press your lips against his.
"I hate you more," you remind him, just as softly, kissing the underside of his jaw.
He sinks into your lap, resting his head against your chest, and without a word, you wrap your cape around him.
And so you both sit there, watching infinity pass by and pretending that the looming darkness was the sky, and the distant dream bubbles were the stars you used to wish on.
…You guess that maybe he could stay after all.